Spencer…. Early afternoon
Alex sits on the seat outside the newsagents waiting for Stevie.
So far, they've had a great day.
Their drive over here was perfect, the weather warm and sunny.
They'd made a pact early on that they wouldn't discuss Nick, Tess or Claire so the conversations were fun.
When they'd arrived, he'd rung Meg to make sure Rose was ok.
Stevie was happy about that as Jodie, Megs teenage daughter was home from boarding school, and she adored Rose too, so Rose would be entertained and looked after very well.
With Stevie relaxing they'd decided to buy a Weekly Times and see what horses were for sale as Stevie wanted to buy one.
She'd been riding one of the McLeods horses for the last couple of years and had finally saved enough to purchase her own.
…
Stevie places the two scratchies she purchased into her purse then folding the paper in half slides it under her arm and walks outside.
Alex is talking to an older man that Stevie has never seen before.
The old fellow watches as a beautiful little red head makes her way over to them.
As she stops beside them Alex offers introductions.
"Stevie this is Ray Greaves, he's an old friend of Dad's and he breeds stock horses."
"Really! I don't suppose you've got any for sale at the moment. I've just bought the Weekly times to have a look." Stevie questions.
"I do actually. He's a Bay gelding, stands 14.2 and he's 4 yrs old. A family bought him for their daughter a couple of months back, but she lost interest, so they rang to see if I'd buy him back. "Ray answers.
"Want to have a look?" Alex asks.
"Yes please."
"Righto Ray will see you back at your place." Alex suggests.
"Give me an hour Alex I've got a couple of things I need to get for the farm." Ray answers as he moves off.
"Ok let's drop our gear at the pub and get sorted for the evening." Alex advises Stevie.
…
Spencer Pub…...Ten minutes later….
"Alex why did you bring your swag in?"
"Well, you have the bed and I'll bunk on the floor."
She gives him the filthiest look before she fires.
With her arms folded across her chest she snarls. "What's wrong with me Alex."
Stunned he asks." I have no idea what you're on about Stevie."
"You book a room for us and then sleep on the goddamn floor!"
He grins which just makes her angrier.
"It's not funny." She snaps.
Stepping towards her he answers. "I don't want to push you into anything you don't want to do."
She softens slightly when she retorts. "I'm a big girl Alex and I'd like to make those decisions myself thank you."
"Ok, sorry."
"Right so we've got a bit of time before we go to look at the horse. What would you like to do?"Stevie asks as she sits on the bed.
Smiling he moves across to her and gently pushes her back onto the bed.
"Oh ok."She giggles as she lifts her arms up to embrace him as he slides on top of her searching for kisses and more.
….
Drovers Run….
Jack is furious as he reads the letter Tess left for him.
Walking into the kitchen he finds Claire and Meg.
"Did either of you know Tess went back to the city?"
"No." They both reply.
"How would she get into town for the bus." Meg asks.
….
Gungellan.. Bus stop…...
Nick stands watching as the bus holding Tess turns the corner.
Inhaling deeply, he moves towards his car.
His phone emits a ping, so he pulls it from his pocket.
Thank you for telling me about my Mum and for driving me into town.
I'll miss you xx Tess.
His countenance is blank.
Punching in a reply he writes.
I'm sorry that you are in this position and so very sad, but I know it was the right thing to do letting you know how serious your Mums illness is.
Please know I'm here if you need me for anything.
I'll miss you too. Xx
…
Sliding into his car his phone pings again.
When I stop crying, I'll ring for a chat if that's ok.
I'm so glad I met you, Nick.
Xxxx
A small smile finds its way onto his face as he simply sends.
Xxxxx
…
Spencer Pub….
Walking from the bathroom Alex remarks. "We'd better get dressed Stevie and go over to Ray's place."
Stevie neither replies nor looks at him so he asks. "Are you ok?"
Sitting up in the bed she replies ."Yes." But still avoids eye contact.
Noticing the emotion in her voice he squats down in front of her and states. "You don't sound ok."
She looks at him and he notes her teary eyes.
"Hey what's wrong."
"What we just did was beautiful Alex." She answers.
His face breaks into a smile as he wraps her up and whispers. "Plenty more where that came from."
Leaning back he takes her face into his hands and plants a plush kiss on her lips and quips. "We could stay here and forget about going to Rays"
She laughs and pushing back suggests. "Horse first."
He grins and nods.
…
Kilarney ….
Jack is red faced as he accuses Harry of betraying his trust.
"How dare you I did no such thing." Harry snarls back at him.
"I rang Tess, and she said Nick told her about her mother's illness. So, you must have told him." Jack snaps back at him.
On cue Nick pulls up at the house.
As he climbs out Jack and Harry are there and both rip into him for various reasons.
Holding his hand up Nick growls. "Hang on a minute, what are you yelling at me for Tess has a right to know how sick her mother is. "
"It wasn't your place to tell her." Jack yells at him.
"No, you're right it wasn't my place." Nick concedes.
Jack still looks angry but also pleased with the confession until Nick continues. "It was yours and Ruth's place to tell her. You should be ashamed of yourselves not only for that but for keeping Claire and Tess apart."
Neither Harry nor Jack responds as Nick storms off.
…..